Graham urges Trump not to abandon infrastructure talks with Democrats

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Wednesday urged President Trump not to abandon infrastructure talks with congressional Democrats after the president declared he would not work with them until their investigations are over.

“My advice to the President is to try to find solutions to problems like infrastructure, prescription drugs, and a broken immigration system,” Graham, a staunch ally of the president, tweeted. “See if we can do two things at once — fight with each other and find common ground.” 

My advice to the President is to try to find solutions to problems like infrastructure, prescription drugs, and a broken immigration system.

See if we can do two things at once — fight with each other and find common ground.

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) May 22, 2019

In a series of tweets Wednesday afternoon, Graham expressed sympathy for Trump after the president attacked House investigations, saying he had “never seen anybody treated this way.”{mosads}

Still, he urged Trump to “rise above it if you can,” arguing the president could push back against the Democratic House majority while still continuing to work with them on other issues.

Referring back to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings, when Graham made headlines for his fiery defense of Kavanaugh against allegations of sexual assault, Graham tweeted, “I didn’t like what happened. But I’m still showing up and still trying to find common ground.”

Trump earlier Wednesday abruptly ended a meeting with congressional Democrats at the White House that had been scheduled to focus on locking down an infrastructure deal. The president later blasted Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) after she accused him of engaging in a “cover-up,” saying that Democrats must end “phony investigations” into his administration before talks can resume.

Graham is up for reelection in 2020 and has emerged as one of Trump’s most vocal defenders in Congress. On issues where he has broken with Trump, the GOP senator has taken a conciliatory tone, saying in March that Trump should stop insulting the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a close friend of Graham’s, because the remarks “hurt him more than they hurt the legacy of Sen. McCain.”